One participant who’s reportedly a chief goal for Liverpool in 2025 has hailed Arne Slot as ‘the most effective coach on the earth’.
Earlier this month, Soccer Insider claimed that Benfica midfielder Orkun Kokcu could be excited about reuining together with his former Feyenoord boss at Anfield, with the 46-year-old believed to have instructed Richard Hughes to do all the pieces of their energy to signal the Turkiye worldwide in January.
Kokcu’s large reward for Slot
As per the print version of Portuguese outlet Document, the appreciation between participant and coach could be very a lot mutual, judging by feedback that the 23-year-old has now made.
Kokcu stated of Slot: “He made me the participant I’m at present. He’s the most effective coach on the earth.”
The identical outlet had not too long ago claimed that the midfielder is valued at €80m (£66.9m) by Benfica and has an eye-watering exit clause of €150m (£125.5m) on the Estadio da Luz.
Will Liverpool spend massive to reunite Slot and Kokcu?
Kokcu performed 96 occasions beneath Slot at Feyenoord, with 21 objectives and 14 assists in that point as he helped them to win the Eredivisie title in 2023 (Transfermarkt), and it was his performances in Rotterdam which earned him a transfer to the Lisbon giants.
Jurgen Klopp eschewed any attainable temptation to reunite together with his former Mainz and Borussia Dortmund gamers when he was Liverpool supervisor, however may the present Reds boss take a distinct strategy at Anfield?
The Turkish midfielder has scored 4 occasions in 15 appearances for Benfica to date this season, together with two objectives within the Champions League, and he boasts a number of the greatest underlying efficiency metrics amongst positional friends in Europe.
As per FBref, he ranks among the many high 1% of midfielders outdoors the continent’s 5 essential leagues for assists (0.45) and non-penalty objectives (0.32) per 90 minutes, together with the highest 2% for photographs (2.53) and non-penalty xG (0.2) per sport and the highest 3% for shot-creating actions (4.7) per match.
Liverpool would understandably have to pay a premium in the event that they’re to steer the Lisbon membership to promote Kokcu in 2025, however the 23-year-old’s declaration about Slot would possibly simply be interpreted as a allure offensive among the many Merseyside hierarchy. It must be fascinating to see if there’s a reunion between the pair over the approaching months.
